Adventures of a Lithuanian persona in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Curses, in period

A few years back, the Barony of Dun Carraig held an event -- I can't remember which one now -- at which the populace was given actual medieval curses (translated into English if necessary) on slips of paper, in case we wanted to use them. I grabbed some extras, and I found them recently while cleaning. Just for fun, I thought I would share them with my readers.

Methink'st thou art a general offence and every man should beat thee. (from Macbeth)

Kerling! (Translation from Old Norse: "Old hag!")

Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets. (from Romeo and Juliet)

Mewling, notty-pated hedgepig! (Elizabethan)

Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon! (from The Life of Timon of Athens)

A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch, uncapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy... (from The Merchant of Venice)

These curses are certainly not directed at my readers. I love my readers! I just aim to give people a thing or two to say when they get angry, besides today's modern F-word.